bli class j 4-8-4

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

thinking of a trainworld order, how do they run through #4 turnouts, spec says 18" radius is ok. your thoughts appreciated.

2

Are you sure? My BLI 4-8-4 Niagara, which I am sure is essentially the same thing below the shell, will accept 22", as per the manufacturer’s claims, but it doesn’t do it especially well. Also, if you have not managed to get the kinks out of your track, you can expect that locomotive you give you fits right from the get-go. The tighter your curves, the worse it will perform on less than level track.

3

Sure enough, the BLI website claims this thing will be fine on an 18" radius. I would imagine, as stated, that the trackwork would have to be perfect.

4

Maybe it will run on 18" radius, but the overhang will be great and I suspect the drawbar will need to be in the last position. I have a pair of the BLI USRA Heavy 2-8-2’s and they will operate on 22" radius curves with the tender ‘close coupled’, but I had to adjust one of the service tracks so that the tender would not derail when backing up.

Jim

5

nyc4me,

I mostly have R22" curves on my layout but have Atlas Snap Track turnouts and a short section of R18" curves on my mainline. All of my Mikes (Athearn, BLI, and Trix) negotiate them without incident.

Now, with the 4-8-4s being somewhat bigger than the Mikes but having the same amount of (but also larger) drivers, it will probably go through R18" curves as BLI describes. However, it goes without saying that it will both look and operate better through R22" and larger curves.

Tom

6

I meant to mention the overhang. I would suspect that it wouldn’t look too “pretty” making an 18" radius. I wouldn’t try it with an Atlas #4.

7

all excellent notes and observations. but…yard is #6 rh turnout off main then ladder tracks are #4’s. Has anyone backed a j through a #4? In my case, to pick up a train. overhang is great, yes. looks bad, yes. but will it do it? Thanks!

8

Yeah, it will work… well… it should. My heavy mountain can.

9

well that’s good news. but now it’ll wait a spell. decided to spring for a light mike right now anyway! thanks!